MIAMI - Milwaukee Bucks wing Khris Middleton is in the midst of the best season of his career.

He is averaging career-bests in points (20.1), rebounds (5.3) and assists (4.2) while shouldering a heavy load for the 30-23 Bucks, who entered Wednesday in fifth place in the Eastern Conference.

Middleton, playing in his sixth NBA season, scored a career-high 43 points against the Charlotte Hornets in November and notched his first triple-double last month against the Philadelphia 76ers. He followed up that triple-double with a stellar stretch that earned him Eastern Conference player of the week — for the first time — on Jan. 29.

Entering play Wednesday, only 10 players in the NBA were averaging over 20 points, five rebounds and four assists per game. Eight of them are all-stars, with Middleton and Detroit's Blake Griffin representing the exceptions.

There was never any expectation Middleton would be an all-star starter, but he was left out of the reserve selections, which are voted on by the league's coaches. Then, when Washington's John Wall and Cleveland's Kevin Love went down with injuries, commissioner Adam Silver tabbed Detroit's Andre Drummond and Miami's Goran Dragic as their replacements.

After saying multiple times over the past few months that becoming an all-star was something he wasn't worried about, something that would "take care of itself," Middleton shared Tuesday that getting passed over multiple times did bother him.

“It’s definitely disappointing," Middleton said. "I definitely felt I should have been an all-star this year. If I wasn’t voted in by the coaches out front then I thought I should have been a replacement but they saw it a different way. I’m not going to let that kill my season. I’m not playing for just an all-star (selection); I’m playing for the playoffs, a championship team.

"I definitely feel disrespected because of the numbers that I had and we had a good record. It is what it is at this point.”

Well, not quite.

In a turn of events no one wanted to see, another all-star spot opened up for an Eastern Conference player on Tuesday night. That's because New York center Kristaps Porzingis suffered a torn left ACL while playing against the Bucks.

Silver will announce his latest replacement pick this week — possibly as soon as Thursday — and Middleton should be among the players considered along with Philadelphia rookie Ben Simmons and Charlotte guard Kemba Walker.

Bucks guard Jason Terry started campaigning for Middleton as well as Bucks point guard Eric Bledsoe after Tuesday's win, casting his vote for anyone in the locker room to hear before leaving. Middleton, though, was happy to keep a low profile at the other end of the room while a crowd encircled Giannis Antetokounmpo — the author of an extraordinary dunk in the victory — and Bledsoe who matched Antetokounmpo's team-high 23 points.

Middleton has kept a low profile while consistently defying expectations during his career. A second-round pick in 2012, Middleton was, at the time, the less publicized piece of the Brandon Jennings trade that brought Middleton and Brandon Knight to Milwaukee in 2013. He's been a consistent contributor but never a star for the Bucks, with former coach Jason Kidd calling him the team's "security blanket" on numerous occasions.

Maintaining a low profile, though, isn't always good for getting accolades. Last week, Minnesota Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau, when asked about Middleton in general, said he didn't think the Bucks wing gets the recognition he deserves for versatile and "terrific player" for multiple years.

“I’m not hating on my guys, but most of the attention goes to Bled, Giannis and JP (Jabari Parker) and I’m always in the background," Middleton said. "I don’t have a problem with that at all. That’s kind of how I’d rather that it be.

"But I still feel like I should get some credit I deserve for the season I was having so far.”

Middleton's teammates appreciate the load he has shouldered, playing in all 53 games and leading the team in minutes with 1,955.

Middleton would likely have the most minutes in the NBA (he ranks fourth) but the players in front of him have all played at least two more games than the Bucks have. “He is an all-star," Bucks guard Tony Snell said. "In my eyes, he’s an all-star."

Whether or not Middleton gets the all-star nod from Silver this week, he believes he's given this season his best shot and helped the Bucks by doing what has been asked. However, as well as he's played, Middleton doesn't expect to keep up with his career-best numbers over the backstretch of the season.

It's not because he can't maintain that level of production. Rather, he wants to do whatever the team needs from him in order to win, even if it means doing less.

“I wish I could sit here and say I feel like I’m going to keep going in this direction, but I’m probably going to have to take a little step back and I have no problem with that," Middleton said. "With Jabari coming back, we’re all going to have to take some type of step back.

"If we want to win, we’re not going to be able to go out on the court and say, ‘my turn’ or ‘your turn.’ We’re going to have to play together and sacrifice some shots, some ball touches, some minutes.”